Fellowship of Believers

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

What about Zebedee?

All week, as I’ve studied this passage, that has been my recurring question: what about Zebedee? How do you think Zebedee reacted to his sons’ decisions? They walked off, leaving the nets, the boat, and him. Did they hug him good-bye? Did they promise to write? Did they even stop to explain why they were making the decision to leave? What about Zebedee?

The truth is we can’t look up the answer to this question in the Bible. The references to Zebedee are short and fleeting and are often simply used to distinguish his sons, as in “Jesus took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee.” Any conclusion we come to will be speculation on our part. In fact, what we ponder will say more about us than it will about Zebedee, because our answers will reflect how we ourselves might have felt in his shoes.

For example, we might imagine that Zebedee felt angry. All that time, all that money, all that effort he had invested to raise his boys to be successful fishermen, and it was gone in an instant. They left it all without a second thought and skipped away after some slick-talking stranger. Who was going to finish the nets? Who was going to work the boats? Who was going to take over when it was time for Zebedee to hang up his fishing pole and relax? Zebedee’s future story had been written in his mind for years, and now, suddenly, everything was changed. We have no trouble imagining that he was angry.

In fact, we suspect that Zebedee might have even been hurt. His boys weren’t just walking away to follow Jesus . . . they weren’t just walking away from the family business . . . they were walking away from him. HIS boys. Walking away. Who knew them better than he did? They’d worked side by side, six days a week, sun up to sun down. He knew what they smelled like and he knew what they were thinking; he even knew what they were going to say before they said it. He knew what John did that got on James’ nerves, and he knew the things that James would do to get back at his brother. They were his boys and he loved them; how could they walk away?


It’s easy for us to understand how Zebedee might have felt angry or hurt; if we’d been in his shoes, we probably would’ve felt the same. But perhaps there’s another way to look at it. Have we ever considered that Zebedee just might have felt relieved? Maybe there were others sons – too many other sons – too many to split the business between. Maybe fishing hadn’t been so good for awhile; it’d be nice not to have to divide the profits with those two anymore. Maybe Zebedee had been thinking of taking early retirement but had been hanging on to make sure the job was done right; after all, he couldn’t count on the boys to do it his way. Now, with them off following Jesus, Zebedee could do what he wanted with the business without having to worry about James and John. Maybe Zebedee was relieved.

I can think of one more way Zebedee might have reacted: I like to think that maybe Zebedee was just a little bit proud. Jesus had a reputation as a miracle worker, a dynamic person. This was no fly-by-night, flash-in-the-pan preacher; people were already saying that this truly was the Son of God. Anybody’s boys could be fishermen; the beach was lined up with boats. But Jesus called his boys - HIS boys! – and they were brave enough to follow. What dad wouldn’t be proud of that? Can’t you just imagine how Zebedee bragged to the other fishermen every time he heard another story about what his boys were doing with Jesus? “They fed 5000, with just a few loaves and fish!” “They healed a bunch of people!” “Folks are following them everywhere, coming from miles around, and my boys are right there in the middle of all of it!” Zebedee might have been a lot of things, but it’s not all that hard to imagine that he was very proud of his boys.

We don’t know what Zebedee really thought. There’s no definitive word in the Scripture that tells us. But there is one final hint about Zebedee that we receive in Matthew that just might give us some insight. In chapter 27 we read of Jesus’ crucifixion. Gathered at the foot of the cross were the women who loved Jesus most: “Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.” Something tells me that, if there had been a lot of hurt feelings about the boys following Jesus, if Zebedee and Mrs. Zebedee had been hurt and angry at Jesus taking their boys from them, we wouldn’t have heard her mentioned at the foot of the cross.

I like to believe that when James and John left their nets that day and walked away from all they knew, that Mr. and Mrs. Zebedee were nothing but proud. You see, that day they, too, in their own ways, became followers of Jesus. Maybe they still fished; maybe they sold the boats and nets. Maybe they followed Jesus at a distance, or maybe they kept the faith strong and alive at home, sending love and support to their sons as often and as much as they could.

We’ve never believed, you and I, that Jesus just called twelve guys to follow him. The call went out to everyone, just as it does today. Everyone is called to follow Jesus, to decide for herself and himself what following Jesus will mean. It’s easy to let our own feelings get in the way, in the way of our own callings as well as others’. It’s easy to be jealous, or hurt, or angry when callings interfere with our plans and our expectations. But Jesus calls all of us to do two things: to follow, and to encourage each other to follow, whatever that might mean.

It’s pretty obvious why I’ve wondered so much about Zebedee this week; it is because I’ve wondered about you. You see, the time has come for me to lay down my familiar nets and set off after Jesus once again. I have accepted a position as a Chaplain Resident at Covenant Health Systems in Lubbock. I will being my position at the end of August, and my last Sunday with you will be August 14th.

The decision to answer this call has not been an easy one. More than anything, it is driven by a desire to be vocationally proactive. Ministry is changing rapidly. As we know all too well, the number of churches that can offer a fulltime pastoral position is quickly diminishing. To be certified as a chaplain will mean that I will be equipped to serve in a broader field of ministerial positions in the future.
I could not be making this decision if I had not spent these last ten years with you. Because of our ministry together, I am confident in my pastoral calling and identity. I know that God has called me to be a minister, and I am sure that I have a part to play in sharing God’s love and grace to people for years to come. You have made me the pastor I am, and I can only take this step because of the love and affirmation you have never hesitated to give me.

I don’t know how you’ll feel in response to this news, but I’ve imagined it this week. No doubt some of you will be angry; others will be hurt. Some of you might be a little relieved. I hope some of you are proud. What we feel, we will feel; it’s all a part of it. Let’s not deny what we feel, nor allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by our feelings.


Most of all, I pray that over the next few weeks you will hear loudly and clearly God’s calling for you. The ministry of the church existed before my time here, and it will continue long after I’m gone. I have never doubted, nor do I now, that God has a special and specific calling for this congregation. Listen closely, brothers and sisters. It will be up to you to take the next step in following Jesus as a church. I pray that you do so boldly, without hesitation.

“Come, follow me.” That’s what Jesus said. Not just to a few. Not just to the twelve. Jesus said it to everyone. Jesus is saying it to you.